Schizzo: Abbild / Likeness

by Paul D'Agostino

Apparenza vagando nel giardino / Appearance Adrift in the Garden, 3/4. From a set of serialized monoprints with diminishing palette, oil on paper, 2011.*

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“Passing away is the figure, the way of being of this world.”
–  Paul the Apostle, 1 Corinthians 7:31

“Man is enclosed in his image and he does not know it.”
–  Pierre Legendre, Dieu au miroir**

Abbild

Eine Sache
die sich immer
noch weiter verwandelt,
obwohl sie immer
im Grunde
die gleiche bleibt:

wie wir bezeichnen
was wir sehen
als Abbild,
unsere Sehnsucht
nach als ob,
nach als ob nicht.

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Likeness

One thing
that is always
yet further transformed,
though it remains ever
essentially
the same:

how we designate
what we see as
a likeness,
our longing
for as if,
for as if not.

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Artwork & texts, P. D’Agostino.

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* This set of serialized monoprints will soon be among the new works featured in D’Agostino’s solo exhibit, Appearance Adrift in the Garden, at Norte Maar Gallery. Curated by Jason Andrew, the exhibit will run from 3 February 2012 to 4 March 2012. Opening reception on Friday, 3 February. More information available soon at nortemaar.org.

** The citation from Pierre Legendre’s Dieu au miroir (Fayard, 1994) appears as referenced by Michael Francis Gibson in his book The Mill and The Cross (Acatos Editions, 2000). The citation from the writings of Paul the Apostle appears as referenced by Giorgio Agamben in The Time That Remains: A Commentary on the Letter to the Romans (Stanford University Press, 2005).